Most Requested Guide

Before Death Do Us Part

A simple guide for gathering your estate documents, financial records, and healthcare directives in one place. Before your family ever needs them.

About This Guide

One Binder. Every Answer Your Family Will Need.

When something happens to you, your family will want to help. The hard part is that helping takes answers. Where are the accounts? Who is the accountant? Which insurance card is current? In a difficult moment, even paying a simple bill can turn into a locked door.

This guide is a practical checklist for gathering everything in one place while it is still easy to do. It was built from our own family experiences and the ones our clients have trusted us with, and it explains not just what to gather but why each item matters.

The one-page essential document checklist, eight categories in all
Healthcare cards, coverage documents, and prescription lists your family will be asked for
Bank, investment, and insurance records, and how beneficiary designations keep accounts from freezing
Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives in plain English
The details most families forget: passwords, recurring bills, safe deposit keys, car titles

Before Death Do Us Part guide cover - American Retirement Advisors

What's Inside

What You'll Learn

The One-Page Checklist

Eight categories of essential documents on a single page: personal identification, military records, healthcare, financial, legal, contact lists, and the everyday details in between.

Legal Documents in Plain English

What a will actually does, when a living trust makes sense, and how durable powers of attorney, living wills, and DNR orders protect your wishes when you cannot speak for yourself.

Lessons From Real Families

Frozen bank accounts, sealed safe deposit boxes, outdated coverage booklets. Firsthand stories about what happens when documents cannot be found, and how to prevent it.

The Details Everyone Forgets

Usernames and passwords, recurring services, funeral plans, car titles, and the contact lists that let your family pick up the phone instead of searching through drawers.

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The complete Before Death Do Us Part checklist and companion guide. No email required. Download it, print it, and start filling that binder this week.

14 pages. Takes about 15 minutes to read. Your family gets the benefit for years.

Quick Answers

What documents should I gather for my family before I die?

Updated October 2026. By the American Retirement Advisors team.

Gather the key records in one place: identification such as your birth certificate and marriage records, military papers like the DD-214, health insurance cards and plan documents, bank, investment and insurance accounts, your will, trust, powers of attorney and living will, contact lists, and passwords, bills and recurring expenses. Then tell your family where it is.

Key facts

The personal representative must file the final income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) for the year of death, plus any earlier returns not yet filed. Source: IRS Publication 559
An estate with more than $600 in annual gross income must file Form 1041, and the estate needs its own EIN. Source: IRS
For 2026, the federal estate tax basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person. Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32
By federal law, an IRA is held for the exclusive benefit of the owner or the owner's beneficiaries. Source: 26 U.S.C. 408
To request military funeral honors, the family needs a DD Form 214 or another discharge document showing honorable service. Source: Military OneSource

Estate Document Questions, Answered

Why should I keep my important documents in one place?

Because your family may need them when you can't answer questions. Without the name on an account, the last four of a Social Security number or the email on file, many places won't even let them pay a bill. In a hospital, your kids will want your insurance cards and coverage documents. A veteran's family needs the DD-214 to request VA help and military honors. Tell them where the file is.

What does a payable-on-death beneficiary do for a bank account?

A payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary on file at each bank can give relatively quick access to the money once the death certificate is presented. In Arizona, a POD provision in an account agreement is a nonprobate transfer on death. Without one, or a living trust that holds the account, the funds may be frozen when the bank is notified of the death, and your family may need probate to reach them.

Can I put my IRA or 401(k) in my living trust?

No. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s and traditional and Roth IRAs can't be titled in a trust; by law an IRA is held for the exclusive benefit of the owner or the owner's beneficiaries. Instead, name a beneficiary and a successor beneficiary on each account. A trust can be named as a beneficiary in some cases, with its own distribution rules, so ask your estate attorney.

What tax returns does my family file after I die?

Your personal representative files your final income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) for the year of death, plus any earlier years not yet filed. If the estate earns more than $600 in annual gross income, it also files Form 1041 under its own EIN. The federal estate tax basic exclusion amount for 2026 is $15,000,000 per person. An accountant can walk your family through it.

Which health insurance documents should my family be able to find?

A copy of your Medicare card and every other health plan card, front and back. For a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, keep the most recent Evidence of Coverage and Summary of Benefits, since plans typically change every year; the Evidence of Coverage says exactly what is covered, where and how. For a Medigap plan, keep the policy and the summary the insurance company gave you. Add a list of your prescriptions and pharmacies.

Sources

General education, not tax or legal advice. ARA is not a law firm; wills, trusts and powers of attorney should be prepared by a licensed estate attorney. Medicare information here does not recommend any specific plan or insurance company.

The full guide goes deeper. Get the guide above.

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